


Heiress Of Illusion

by rationalbookworm



Series: Super Old/Abandoned Works [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Gabriel has a daughter, Season 3, deleted that a long time ago, just a hint of relationship, now a stand alone, was once a part of a larger series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 07:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20093374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rationalbookworm/pseuds/rationalbookworm
Summary: The trickster wasn't alone when the Winchesters blew into town.Originally posted in 2014





	1. Chapter 1

Piper allowed the door to slam shut behind her, announcing her presence in a not-so-subtle way. Then again, the professor swan diving out of the fourth story window wasn’t exactly subtle either. And now they had to deal with hunters digging around her school. And not just hunters, the freaking Winchesters. Piper had known for years the part she would play in the Winchesters lives, but they weren’t supposed to meet like this. Not now. It was too soon.

Jack, her dad’s small terrier, came running up to greet her, yipping happily when she bent down to scratch behind her ears. A quick glance around told her, her dad wasn’t home. Probably still at work. The janitor-type work, not the trickster-type work. She shrugged. She was patient, she could wait. Grabbing a handful of jelly beans from a nearby bowl, she settled down with one of her _Supernatural _novels. They weren’t very good, but it was kind of amusing to read about the lives she was going to have to save one day. She really should go visit this Carver guy, see if he even knew what he was writing, get an autograph. Maybe her dad would be willing to take her. Once she ripped him a new one for the professor trick, that is.

A half hour later, the door swung open again. Piper peeked over the top of her book to see her father grinning like a maniac, as per usual. She rolled her eyes as he snapped his fingers, making the door shut behind him and a feast fit for a king appear on the table.

“Honey, I’m home!” he called, sauntering over to his dinner spread.

Piper rolled her eyes again, getting up to join him, “Do you have to say that every time you come home?”

He smiled, placing a quick kiss on her forehead, “How was school?”

She eyed him, sinking into one of the chairs around the table, “Interesting.”

He motioned for her to continue and snapped some soda into existence for the two of them.

“Two ‘reporters’ have been floating around, asking questions about that ethics professor that died. You know, the one _you_ found?”

“Really?” he asked nonchalantly, not looking at his daughter.

Piper frowned, “You should know. They talked to you too, didn’t they?”

He shrugged, “Might have.”

“Dad.”

“Alright,” he sighed, plopping down in the chair next to her as Jack jumped up onto his lap. “How was I to know hunters would come a-knocking?”

“So what’re you gonna do?”

He grinned widely, “I was thinking an alien abduction. What was that guy’s name? The jock that keeps hitting on you and thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

She rolled her eyes, “I was talking about the Winchesters.”

“What’s there to do?” he shrugged and leaned back in his chair, completely unconcerned.

“They’ll figure it out.”

“Probably.”

“They’ll try to kill you.”

He grinned, showing all his teeth, “I’d like to see them try.”

“I wouldn’t,” Piper was not ashamed in the least when her voice raised an octave.

“Pipe,” he sighed, reaching over to take her hand comfortingly. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me, okay? Only one thing can kill me, and no matter how good those boys are, there is no way in heaven, hell, or earth that they have an Angel Blade.”

“It’s just…what if…”

“Look, they’ll think I’m a trickster, right? So all I have to do is set it up, let them believe they killed a trickster, and we take off. You’re already ahead on credits, ready to graduate whenever you want. We can take a vacation, just you and me. No work whatsoever, huh? What d’you say? Wanna go to Coney Island with me?”

A grin slowly spread across her face, “I’d rather go to Disneyland.”

“That’s my girl,” he smiled and pressed another loving kiss to her forehead. “Now! We need a plan to stretch this out, keep them guessing long enough so they don’t think I’m _letting_ them get to me.”

“Already taken care of,” she turned to pick out a pasty for her dinner before getting up and collecting her bag and book. Now that she was back on the same page with her dad, she really should be heading to talk to her counselor about graduating early. A vacation sounded nice. Especially if she got to meet Mickey. “I figured you’d at least need them distracted for a while so I did a little B&E.”

Her father stood to walk her to the door, “Go on.”

“Nothing major. I just thought if we got them angry enough at each other, they might not be on their game enough to notice much. I got Sam’s laptop to freeze on that one porn sight you seem to like so much.”

He threw his head back to laugh, “Oh, that is classic! What else do you have planned?”

“Something with Dean’s car for sure. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Text me the moment you do something. I wanna see the blowout for myself.”

“Will do,” she kissed his cheek and opened the door, pausing on the threshold, “Oh, one last thing. When you abduct Curtis, make the aliens slow dance with him.”

He began laughing again.

“I’m thinking, _The Lady in Red_.”

* * *

Her dad’s alien abduction ploy had gone off amazingly. Curtis wasn’t going to bother anyone anytime soon. Which was a huge relief to Henry, Piper’s friend and Curtis’s fraternity brother. Henry had had to survive pledge week with Curtis and was glad that the jock had finally gotten a taste of his own medicine. Piper could sympathize with that. The man-child wasn’t her favorite person in the world either.

She had swung by casa Winchester on her way to meeting Henry, just to see what else she could do. She had decided to hold off on messing with the Impala, deciding Sam would have to be a lot angrier before he would go that far. So, she had to make him angrier. Easiest way to do that – steal the laptop. Or more like borrow. She had every intention to give it back after all this was over. While she was at it, she swiped a stack of folded bills with a shiny silver clip that had SW engraved on one side. Planting this at the car would help the prank seem real.

Evidence and computer now safely tucked in her bag, Piper trotted out of the room, feeling oddly proud of herself. She didn’t often give in to the devious nature she’d inherited from her father, but when she did and she pulled off a prank, she always felt kind of fulfilled. A part of her would always be a little conniving, she supposed.

As she neared the spot where she was to meet Henry, she spotted him off to the side with two semi-familiar guys. They looked big, easily dwarfing poor Henry, with dark hair. She couldn’t really tell much more until she drew closer. When recognition sparked in her brain, she slowed, not really willing to meet the Winchesters just yet. Especially when she had Sam’s property in her school bag.

“Henry,” she called from a few feet away, drawing the three guys’ attention while making it clear she wasn’t eavesdropping. Sam looked over and gave a polite smile which she willingly returned. She couldn’t help but like the big guy. His brother, who was currently eyeing her like a piece of meat, however, she could do without.

“One sec,” Henry called before turning back to the guys for a minute. They said their goodbyes, and with one last smile from Sam and a leer from Dean, they turned and left. Henry half-jogged up to her and she promptly linked arms with him, curling close as a sharp wind whipped around them. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem. I just go here,” she assured him. “Who were those guys, anyway? I’ve seen them around.”

“Reporters,” he said simply. “Asking about Curtis.”

She snorted at the mention of the jock, “What did they wanna know?”

She felt him shrug, “Just if I thought what he said was true and what he’s like. I told them he was nuts and a dick.”

Piper laughed lightly and walked ahead of her friend into the library where they were tutoring. Her voice dropped to a whisper as they signed in at the front desk, “They were kinda cute, though.”

Henry grinned, “I call dibs on the short, model-y one.”

“Deal.”

* * *

Her dad leaned around the corner to watch as Dean discovered the Impala with flat tires. Piper was leaning against the wall of the alley they were staking out, reading another _Supernatural_ novel while her dad admired her handiwork. It hadn’t been the most subtle of tricks, and really Dean was going to be furious (she kinda felt bad for Sam) but it would work as a very good distraction. At least until Bobby Singer showed up. They should have known the boys were going to call in the older hunter for this one. And once Bobby heard the full story, he’d easily put everything together. Piper gave it a day, two at the most before they worked it all out.

“Sam!” Dean’s furious shout startled her momentarily. It had almost seemed like he was right by her. Dear God, that man was loud.

Her dad chuckled, moving to wrap an arm around her shoulders and squeeze her to his side, “That was priceless. I think you deserve a reward for that one.”

“Cold Stone?”

“Sounds great.”

They checked to make sure the elder Winchester had already stormed off before they made their way down the street to the ice cream parlor.

* * *

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Piper murmured.

It had been a day, just like she thought, when her dad had called, warning her that they’d be leaving within the next twenty-four hours. She was to pack everything, put it in his apartment for magical transportation later, and meet him in one of the lecture halls. Ironically, it was the recently deceased professor’s classroom. However it no longer looked quite right. A large round bed stood on the stage, complete with canopy and matching bedroom set. There was even a tacky lava lamp on a bedside table and a disco ball hanging over the bed. Stage lights hung above them, shining annoyingly colorful flashing lights everywhere and making her head hurt. Two conjured sluts were lounging on the bed, waiting for their cue, while Barry White played over the loudspeaker.

“Too much?” her dad grinned from beside the podium.

“For Dean?” she raised an eyebrow while stepping down the steps to the front. “Not at all. For any other normal human being? Very much so.”

Her dad shrugged, “Oh well. It’ll get the job done. You go sit in a corner and keep silent. I’ll make sure to keep you hidden from them, but if you draw attention to yourself, it may break through the illusion.”

She gave a mock salute, “Yes, sir.”

In the far back left corner of the room, where she would be sufficiently hidden while still being able to see everything, she found a bag of popcorn and a soda waiting. It seemed her father was planning on serving up a little show for her. She plopped down in her designated seat, slumping down until she could drape her short legs over the back of the seat in front of her and settled her popcorn in her lap. Her dad had disappeared, preparing for a dramatic entrance no doubt.

One of the doors creaked open and Piper turned her head to see Dean walk in, his eyes wide in shock. _Let the show begin_. He slowly made his way down the steps, obviously unsure what to make of the display. His head kept whipping around, trying to spot the trickster, though his eyes were clearly drawn again and again to the scantily clad ladies on stage. He looked a bit dazed as he approached the women and Piper had to bite back a laugh.

The women began to crawl across the bed towards him as the brunette spoke, “We’ve been waiting for you, Dean.”

“Y-you guys aren’t real,” Dean stammered as Piper snorted. Thankfully the man was too distracted to hear her.

“Trust me, sugar, it’s gonna feel real,” the brunette continued. It seemed the blonde couldn’t speak.

Piper slapped her hand over her mouth to not burst out laughing. Seriously? Was that really necessary?

Dean stuttered wordlessly for a minute, sounding strangled.

“Come on,” the blonde finally spoke. “Let us give you a massage.”

“Wha…?” Dean shifted, fighting his instincts. “You know, I-I’m a sucker for a happy ending. Really, I am, but I’m gonna…have to…pass.”

“They’re a peace offering,” her dad’s voice rang out. Both she and Dean turned at the same time to see the man in his janitor’s uniform, lounging in a seat in the middle of the second row, his feet propped up similar to his daughters. He lowered his feet as he continued, “I know what you and your brother do. I’ve been around a while,” understatement of the year, “Run into your kind before.”

“Well, then you know that I can’t let you just keep hurting people,” Dean countered arrogantly.

Piper didn’t need to see her dad’s face to know the scowl that had replaced the bright smile a second before he rolled his eyes with his whole head and smirked, “Come on. Those people got what was coming to them. Hoisted on their own petards. But you and Sam, I like you. I do. So treat yourself, long as you want. Just enough for me to move on to the next town.” He whipped a candy bar out of his front pocket with a smile.

Dean shook his head, “Yeah, I don’t think I can let you do that.”

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he said matter-of-factly as he unwrapped the chocolaty goodness. “And you know that I can.”

“Look man, I gotta tell you, I dig your style. All right? I mean–” he glanced back at the girls with a grin, “I do, I mean…And the, uh, slow-dancing alien?”

The trickster threw his head back as he laughed, nodding encouragingly, “One of my personal favorites.”

Piper smiled, mentally thanking them both for the praise of her idea.

“But, uh,” Dean’s smile dropped. “I can’t let you go.”

“Too bad. Like I said, I liked you. But Sam was right. You shouldn’t have come alone.”

Dean nodded, smirking ever-so-slightly, “Well, I’ll agree with you there.”

The sound of the doors opening had her dad turning. Even though they had planned it, set it up for this to happen, and there was no way for those flimsy sticks of wood to hurt her father, Piper still felt a shiver of fear at the sight of Sam and Bobby standing there, waiting to strike.

“That fight you guys had outside, that was a trick?” he asked like he hadn’t already known.

Dean shrugged with a cocky little smile on his face.

“Hmm. Not bad.”

The elder Winchester slowly pulled his own wooden stake from the inside of his coat.

“But you wanna see a real trick?” He grinned, pointing his candy bar to the side. Right on cue, a loud chainsaw noise fired up, startling Piper.

“A little warning next time,” she whispered to herself, dropping her feet to the floor and leaning forward as fights broke out. Dean was being tossed around by the fake women, while her dad cheered. Sam and Bobby where trying their best not to get killed by the chainsaw guy from the _Weekly World News_ or whatever magazine he came from. After a while, Piper got tired of watching them fight for their lives. She was never one for violence as entertainment. So instead she pulled out her phone to check how Henry was doing on his date with his lab partner. Honestly, that boy was probably going to be the one thing she missed about this school. But he’d promised to keep in touch.

“Dean,” her dad’s casual tone brought her back to what was happening in front of her. She could feel it. It was all almost over. He was standing now, looking over the front row of seats as Dean scrambled to his feet. She was so distracted by her father she almost missed Sam tossing his brother one of the stakes. “Dean, Dean, Dean. I did not wanna have to do this.”

Piper turned away a half second before Dean plunged the stake into her father’s chest. She just couldn’t bear to watch that. Placing her hands over her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut, she blocked out all the noise from the room, feeling like a child again as tears leaked out of her eyes. A familiar arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into a warm comforting chest. She let her father rock her gently as she cried. Even if she knew it had all been fake, it had just been too much to handle.

Finally, she regained her composure enough to look up into her father’s whiskey colored eyes. He smiled understandingly, rubbing her back in soothing circles.

“Never again,” she sniffled.

“Promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

Piper frowned as she walked down the street. She may not be a very skilled trickster, but she could still sense the…off-ness of this town. Like something was…misplaced. Kind of. She really couldn’t explain it except that a weird squishy feeling had settled in her stomach since she drove into town in her crappy Nissan. Along with that, she had a strange sense that her father was nearby, probably creating havoc.

Following that sense was easy enough. It led her straight to a diner in the middle of town where a few people were sitting about, enjoying breakfast. As she stepped inside, everything froze, reminding her of that scene at the beginning of the second X-Men movie. Her dad waved her over to where he was sitting at the counter. She shook her head when she realized he was wearing a rather nice work suit. He probably was in disguise to everyone else right now, but she always could see his real face, even when he wore a glamour.

“Hey,” she greeted as she slid onto the stool beside him, stealing a bite of pancake along the way.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, cuz I am,” he gave her a small smile. “But what are you doing here?”

“Heard about the mystery spot,” she explained, raising an eyebrow, “And how some asshole professor disappeared there when he was trying to debunk it.” His smile grew and she couldn’t help but laugh, “What did you do?”

“Threw him into a wormhole.”

She made a startled noise in the back of her throat, “That’s kinda harsh, don’t you think?”

He merely shrugged in answer, conjuring more pancakes for them and a side of fruit for her.

“So what’s with all this then?” she asked around a strawberry, gesturing vaguely to the frozen diner with her fork. “If you already got the asshole then why are you still lingering?”

“Winchesters.”

“Oh, daddy no. Please tell me you didn’t.”

He grinned, “Couldn’t help myself.”

She sighed, shaking her head, “What did you do?”

“_Groundhog Day_.”

“_Groundhog Day_?”

“_Groundhog Day_.”

“So one of them’s stuck in a time loop.”

“Yup.”

“Bet I can guess which one.”

“Bet you can.”

“What exactly do you have against Sam anyway?”

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her, “You really want me to answer that?”

She rolled her eyes, “He doesn’t even know about the future we’ll have. Hell, he doesn’t even know I _exist_ yet. You can’t blame him for the future God gave me.”

“I still don’t know what Father was thinking. How are you supposed to–”

“Dad,” she cut him off, laying a hand on his forearm. “It’s fine. If it all goes to plan, everything will be fine. Plus, I doubt you’d let anything truly bad happen to me.”

He smiled fondly at her, patting the hand that was still on his arm, “You can count on it.”

“Good.” She leaned back to finish her breakfast. “Now. Let Sam and Dean go so we can actually make it to that time.”

He pouted, “Oh, come on. Just a couple more Tuesdays?”

“Dad,” she sighed.

“Look,” he snapped his fingers, turning his syrup from maple to strawberry. “A subtle clue. If the Sasquatch really is as clever as he thinks, he’ll notice and realize what’s happening.”

“And then they’ll try to kill you again.”

“They won’t succeed.”

“Still,” she shook her head. “Seems a little iffy to me. Besides, won’t he notice there’s an extra person suddenly sitting in the diner?”

“Easy,” he snapped his fingers again before turning back to his breakfast without another word.

Piper stared at her father for a long minute, realization slowly sinking in, “You just made me invisible didn’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Well, okay then.” She took another bite of fruit. “I see anything I don’t like though, and I’m stopping this.”

He sighed, “I figured as much.” Another snap of his fingers sent the diner back into motion, no one reacting to the extra body at the counter.

An old man was at the register paying his bill when the bell at the door jingled, announcing a new customer. Piper looked up to watch Sam preceding Dean through the door. Stress lines marred his face and his hazel eyes looked flat, dead. His head was down, not looking where he was going. Whatever her dad was putting him through was obviously weighing him down.

“Drive safely now, Mr. Pickett,” the cashier said in a falsely cheerful voice.

“Yeah, yeah,” the old man groused, snatching his change as he turned to go. He ran into Sam on the way out, Sam’s large body barely turning from the impact.

The brothers passed where the waitress was talking to a man at the other side of the counter and sat down in a booth behind Piper and her father.

“Hey. Tuesday,” Dean’s voice drifted over to her as she finished eating and turned to face them. If they couldn’t see her, she may as well enjoy the show. “Pig in a poke,” he smiled.

Sam looked exasperated. Like he’d heard this too often. How many times had he gone through this morning? Without changing his expression he slapped a set of keys on the table, making Dean look down in confusion.

“What are those?” the elder brother asked.

“The old man’s,” Sam’s voice was flat. “Trust me. You don’t want him behind the wheel.”

Piper didn’t really get it, and judging by Dean’s reaction, neither did he. They both let it go, though, as the waitress came up to their table.

“You boys ready?”

“Yes, we are,” Dean answered, still flashing confused looks to his brother. “Uh, I’ll have the special, a side of bacon and coffee.”

“Hey, Doris,” Sam turned to look at the woman. “What I’d like is for you to log in some more hours at the archery range. You’re a terrible shot.”

“How do you know that?” she sounded bewildered.

“Lucky guess.”

Doris walked away, still a little dazed.

“Okay,” Dean said seriously. “So you think you’re caught in some kind of what?”

“Time loop,” the exasperated look was back.

“Like _Groundhog Day_.”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s no way to stop it.” It almost broke her heart how defeated he sounded. Piper frowned at her father, giving him a small pinch in the side – the only not obvious retaliation she could give. He flinched and frowned at his plate, but otherwise didn’t react. He was especially skilled at acting like nothing was happening in situations like these.

“Jeez,” Dean’s voice brought her attention back to the boys’ table. “Aren’t you grumpy?”

“Yeah, I am. You wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“This is the hundredth Tuesday in a row I’ve been through and it never stops. Ever. So yeah, I’m a little grumpy.”

“A hundred?” she hissed to her father, giving him another pinch. He flinched again but this time smirked, his eyes flicking to hers briefly. She rolled her eyes. He could be so childish sometimes.

“Hot sauce.” Sam said out of nowhere.

“What?”

“Coffee,” Doris appeared by their table, setting a coffee mug in front of Dean, “Black. And some hot sauce for the–” she cut off as the small bottle slipped off her tray and Sam caught it deftly with one hand, setting it on the table without ever looking away from Dean. “Whoops! Crap. Thanks.” She glanced between the brothers before scurrying away.

“Nice reflexes,” Dean blinked as his brother spoke over him.

“I knew it was gonna happen, Dean. I know everything that’s gonna happen.”

“You don’t know _everything_.”

“Yeah I do.”

Dean smirked a second before they began talking in unison, much to the elder brother’s annoyance.

“Yeah, right.” They paused, Dean frowning. “Nice guess.”

“It wasn’t a guess,” Sam shook his head slightly.

“Right, you’re a mind reader,” they continued together. “Cut it out, Sam. Sam.” They both leaned forward, speaking quickly and quietly, “You think you’re being funny, but you’re being really, really childish. Sam Winchester wears makeup. Sam Winchester cries his way through sex. Sam Winchester keeps a ruler by the bed and every morning when he wakes up – okay. Enough.”

They both leaned away, Dean glancing out the window to collect his thoughts while Sam scowled at him. Piper was holding onto her middle, doubled over she was laughing so hard. Tears were pouring down her face as she struggled to catch her breath. She was kind of glad no one could see her. They’d probably think she’d gone insane. Her father, however, was chuckling silently into his mug, obviously trying to hold himself back from bursting out as well, if not from the display the boys just put on, then from his daughter nearly passing out from laughing too much.

“That’s not all,” Sam muttered.

“Oh God, there’s more?” she shook her head, wiping away tears with the back of her hands, turning to where Sam was looking at the cashier.

“Randy, the cashier? He’s skimming from the register. Judge Meyers?” He nodded to an older man sipping a milkshake at the corner of the counter. “At night, he puts on a furry bunny outfit.” The judge, having overheard, dropped his shake in shock. “Over there,” he motioned to the only other guy at the counter, the one the waitress had been talking to earlier when the Winchesters had first walked in. “That’s Cal. He’s gonna rob Tony the mechanic on the way home.”

“What’s your point?” Dean asked, beginning to look scared.

“My point is I’ve lived through every possible Tuesday. I’ve watched you die every possible way. I have ripped apart the Mystery Spot, burnt it down, tried everything I know to save your life and I can’t. No matter what I do, you die. And then I wake up. And then it’s Tuesday again.”

Piper turned to her father, laughter gone as she scowled at his profile while he calmly read the morning paper, “You make him watch his brother die?” He didn’t answer, not that she expected him to. “Over and over. You make him watch. A hundred Tuesdays dad? This isn’t funny. It wasn’t to begin with. This ends. Now.”

The guys had gotten up to leave while she spoke, paying for the food they hadn’t eaten.

“I don’t care if they haven’t figured it out or not. This is gonna end today.” She slid off her stool and jogged to keep up with them. The moment she stepped out of the diner, she felt the illusion over her pop, making her visible once more. The Winchesters, with their freakishly long legs, had gotten a good head start, already half way down the next block. Not wanting to draw too much attention to herself, she jogged across the street and then fell back into a brisk walk, catching up enough to overhear them talking.

“The dog,” Sam said in a bored tone as they passed a golden lab tied up outside a store. It barked at them shaking its tail. Piper patted its head as she passed.

“There’s gotta be some way out of this,” Dean practically growled, frustrated with the situation.

“Where’s my dang keys?” Sam mocked the old man from earlier as they passed him. He repeated what Sam had just said, patting down his sweater pockets. Piper offered him a kind smile.

“Excuse me,” Sam muttered a second before a pretty young woman knocked into them, turning to say excuse me and continuing down the road. Piper got one of the girl’s flyers as she passed. She glanced at the picture of the dickhead who his father dropped into a wormhole, Dexter Hasselback. The woman turned out to be his daughter. Piper wished she could apologize for her father’s sick sense of humor, but that would be weird for the other woman.

Suddenly Dean was standing there, talking to the blonde woman and startling Piper into silence. She glanced down the road where Sam stood looking slightly stunned. She cursed silently when she realized, even if he’d never looked back on any other Tuesday and therefore wouldn’t know if she’d been there or not, he _had_ seen her once before. At the college, when she’d gone to meet Henry, the Winchesters had been talking to him. Sam had looked directly at her, and even if he didn’t know where he’d seen her, he definitely recognized her now.

Not wanting to stick around and find out what Sam had to say to her, she gave a smile to the blonde woman as Dean turned away as well, told her she’d keep an eye out for her father, and headed back to the diner.

“Ma’am?” Sam’s voice called. She didn’t turn to see who he was calling to. “Uh, miss?”

She felt a sharp tug somewhere behind her navel. She blinked and suddenly it was early morning again and she was standing beside her Nissan outside the diner. The flyer was gone from her hands and the street only had light traffic. Looking through the blinds of the building in front of her, she spotted her dad eating pancakes and the old man walking up to the cashier to pay his bill.

Looked like it was another Tuesday.


	3. Chapter 3

She stomped into the diner, feeling another illusion settle over her as her dad turned her invisible again. She plopped down next to him, crossing her arms angrily, “What did I say?”

He sighed, snapping his fingers to freeze the scene again, “It’s not my fault Dean-o got turned into puppy chow.”

“Just end this, dad. It’s cruel and unusual punishment, even for you.”

He ignored her, snapping his fingers to set everything right. Clearly he didn’t agree with her and was done discussing it. She watched Sam and Dean sit down at their table again, but instead of Sam going through the trouble to make his brother believe like last time, he pulled out his laptop and started clacking away at it. His eyes were alight with a hope Piper hadn’t seen the day before. By the time Sam looked up again, Dean was already halfway through breakfast.

“So the police report said Dexter Hasselback is a professor but that’s not all he is.”

“What is he?” Dean asked, swallowing a bite of bacon.

“I talked to his daughter. The guy’s quite the journalist. Columns in magazines, a blog.” Piper saw her dad get up in her periphery to pay his bill. She decided not to acknowledge him, still too mad at him. “He writes about tourist attractions: mystery spots, UFO crash sites. Gets his kicks debunking them. I mean, he’s already put four of these places out of business. Here.” He turned the laptop to face his brother. Piper caught a sight of the professor’s blog. The pompous ass had his picture taking up half the page.

“Dexter Hasselback: Truth Warrior?” Dean read, sounding disgusted. “More like a pompous schmuck, if you ask me.”

“Yeah,” Sam chuckled. “Tell me about it. I mean, I’ve read everything the guy’s written. He must’ve weighed a ton, he was so full of himself.”

“When did you have time to do all this research?”

Sam hesitated, shaking his head slightly, “Come on.”

They gathered all their stuff, getting ready to go. Dean started chuckling, shaking his head.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Oh just – it’s funny you know. This guy spends his whole life crapping on mystery spots, then he vanishes in one. It’s kinda poetic, you know. Like just deserts.”

Sam chuckled, “You’re right. It is just deserts.” He froze, staring at the abandoned plate of half-eaten pancakes. Strawberry syrup was spread around, the bottle still sitting to one side. Piper gave a small smile. Her dad may be an ass, but at least he was still giving Sam a chance to figure everything out.

Dean, seeing Sam’s expression, walked back from the cashier, “What’s wrong?”

Sam was looking out the window where her dad was walking down the street, picking his teeth with a toothpick, “Guy has maple syrup for the past hundred Tuesdays. All of a sudden, he’s having strawberry?” Apparently he hadn’t noticed the day before.

“It’s a free country.” Dean shrugged, not understanding. “Man can’t choose his own syrup, huh? What have we become?”

“Not in this diner. Not today,” Sam said, looking around. His eyes settled for half a second on Piper, stopping her heart. He couldn’t suddenly see her right? Her father’s illusion was still intact, wasn’t it? Then his eyes moved on, letting her breathe. “Nothing in this place ever changes. Ever. Except me.” His eyes went back to scanning around, once more settling on Piper for longer than she was comfortable with, until Dean managed to usher him out, still looking worried.

The moment they were gone, Piper ran out, pausing to watch them walk down the road before running in the opposite direction to where her dad had been heading. She found him a few blocks away, waiting for her. He was leaning against the side of a sports car, arms crossed but a small smile on his face.

“He noticed the syrup,” she said bluntly. “Thanks for that.”

He nodded, “Sure thing, cupcake.”

She sighed, leaning against the car beside him, “I still don’t like that you did this. It’s not right.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” he rolled his eyes. “If it was anyone else you wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“Yes, I would.” She hesitated, thinking of a way to explain what was going on in her mind in a way he’d understand. “What if it were me? What if my time was running out and someone trapped us in a time loop, making you watch me die over and over?”

His jaw clenched as he straightened, “That’ll never happen.”

“But do you understand where I’m coming from now? Just because Sam’ll have to deal with Dean’s death at _some point in time_, doesn’t mean he should have to _now_. Especially as many times as he has. Besides, he won’t be alone when it actually happens. We _both_ know that.”

“Fine,” her father finally conceded. “If the moose doesn’t figure it out before the next Tuesday ends, I’ll come out in the open and explain.”

She smiled, feeling the same tug from yesterday. Dean must have died again. She leaned forward before time reversed and gave her father a peck on the cheek, “Thank you, daddy.”

And she was back outside the diner. That was annoying. Couldn’t he at least let her start out _in_ the diner. She sighed, making her way back in as the illusion to hide her fell back over her. She sat down with her father as usual, and stole some pancake again.

“Remember,” she mumbled, watching the Winchesters enter. “No matter what, this ends today.”

She turned to look at the boys, seeing Sam sitting tense in his seat, his eyes continually following her father’s movements. Even when Doris went over to get their order, he just waved her off. And when she returned, he let the hot sauce fall to the ground, too busy keeping an eye on the trickster. Dean seemed to notice his brother’s tenseness as he ate, his green eyes staying locked on the younger man.

“So you think you’re caught in some kind of what again?” They must have talked before coming to breakfast.

“Eat your breakfast,” Sam snapped, turning back to the trickster.

Dean just shrugged and continued eating.

“This is too much,” Piper groaned. “Freeze the diner and make me visible so I can talk to him.”

Her father frowned.

“Daddy, please. He’s about to snap, and if he catches up to you like that…”

He sighed, snapping his fingers so the diner froze except for Sam, Dean, Piper, and the trickster. Dean and Sam quickly realized they were the only ones able to move and jumped up, reaching for whatever weapons they had on them. Dean had his gun in hand in a second and Sam whipped out a wooden stake from a brown paper bag on the seat next to him.

The trickster snapped his fingers again, bringing his daughter back into view, “Happy?”

“Delirious,” she rolled her eyes.

“You,” Sam’s voice had her turning towards him. His eyes were wide and incredulous, his mouth hanging open slightly.

“So you did recognize me, then.”

“Excuse me,” her father raised an eyebrow at her. “Want to explain?”

“At the college, you know the one with the swan diving professor and slow dancing aliens?” Dean made a choking/laughing sound that everyone ignored. “Sam saw me when I went to meet Henry. They were talking to him about Curtis. Then a couple Tuesdays ago, when I first got here, I was gonna tell them what was happening but got kinda sidetracked. Anyway, he saw me then too.”

Her father rolled his eyes, “You are horrible at this, I hope you know that.”

“You’re the one who trained me, so basically it’s all your fault.”

He opened his mouth to retaliate, only to be cut off by Sam’s sharp words, “So you’re one of them too?”

“One of what?” her dad smirked, playing with the boy.

“I know what you are. We’ve killed your kind before.”

His smirk grew, “Actually, bucko,” Piper felt the shift in the air, signaling that his father was dropping his disguise. Dean and Sam’s jaws dropped, surprise radiating from their massive forms. “You didn’t.”

There was an intense stare down as Piper tried to think of what to say.

“Why are you doing this?” Sam finally asked in a low voice.

“You’re joking, right? You chuckleheads tried to kill me last time. Why wouldn’t I do this?”

“And Hasselback. What about him?” Dean demanded.

“Dropped into a wormhole,” Piper shrugged, pointing to her father when both Winchesters stared at her. “I just got here a couple Tuesdays ago, I swear. And I’ve been trying to stop it since. I’m not into the whole, uh, killing people thing. Though, I did think up the slow-dancing-aliens-thing.”

Dean made another aborted attempt at a laugh while Sam scowled at her father.

“So this is fun for you?” the taller man asked. “Killing Dean over and over again?”

“One: Yes, it is fun.”

Piper made a loud buzzer noise, like on _Jeopardy_ when the contestant gets the answer wrong. Dean started to turn red, he was trying so hard not to laugh.

Her father ignored her, “And two: This is so not about killing Dean. This joke is on you, Sam. Watching your brother die every day. Forever. Ow!” He rubbed the back of his head where his daughter had just smacked him.

“Stop that!” she demanded.

“So what about you?” Dean growled, his face studiously not amused, though the laughter in his eyes gave it away. “Where do you come in to this? You his student or something?”

She thought about that, “Yes and no.”

“Huh?”

“It’s traditional for fathers to teach their children what they know,” the trickster said calmly, smirking at the shocked faces of the hunters. “You two should know that better than anyone.”

Piper raised her hand to smack him again for that comment but he caught her wrist easily. She scowled at him instead.

“Anyway,” she turned back to the Winchesters, changing the subject before they could ask anything. “What my dad was trying to point out, oh-so-subtly, was that when the time comes, Sam, you won’t be able to save Dean. He made a deal. At the end of his year, he will die. You can’t do anything about it.” Sam was staring at her, looking ready to argue. “I’m sorry. And I know you’re going to try. Hell, I would too. I don’t blame you for that. Just don’t get your hopes up. And be careful. You get too invested in saving him, and it could…well…How do I put this?” She turned wide eyes on her father, knowing the puppy dog look always worked magic on him.

He sighed, “Sam, there’s a lesson here that I’ve been trying to drill into that freakish, Cro-Magnon skull of yours.”

“Hey,” Piper frowned playfully, “It’s not freakish.”

“Yeah, actually,” Dean chuckled. “It kinda is.”

Sam rolled his eyes, “What lesson?”

“This obsession to save Dean? The way you two keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain.” Piper reached out to squeeze her father’s hand briefly, knowing he was speaking from experience, that he too missed his brothers, missed his wife and the daughter that had been taken from him, and that he had tried to get it all back once, only to have it blow up in his face. “Dean’s your weakness. The bad guys know it too. He’s gonna be the death of you, Sam.”

“He’s my brother,” Sam said faintly.

“Yup,” he shrugged. “And like it or not, he’s gonna die.”

Piper sighed, seeing the crushed and angry expressions in front of her, “Not really how I’d put it, but yeah. Sam, Dean will die. That’s an established fact. What isn’t, is how you react. No one will blame you for falling apart a little, or even expect anything else. But letting that loss, that pain consume you and become the only thing you live for, is only going to insult the life your brother gave up to save you.”

Sam nodded slowly, his eyes locked with hers. She could see a spark of understanding in their depths and hoped she’d gotten through to him, even just a little. Even if it didn’t, this small meeting here could help with their future, after Dean was gone. She’d have to ask Grandfather about that.

“Well this has been nice,” the trickster said sarcastically, straightening his suit as he stood. “Lovely little heart-to-heart. We should do this again.”

“Where are you going?” Piper asked suspiciously.

“Home,” he winked at her, making sure she knew ‘home’ meant the villa in Tuscany she had loved as a teen. He pressed a kiss on her forehead and turned to the hunters, “When you two wake up, it’ll be Wednesday.”

“And I’ll be there to escort you out of town, just in case,” she assured.

Her father turned to her, looking hurt, “You don’t trust me? Do you think I would lie about this?”

She gave him a ‘bitch, please’ face, something she didn’t often use.

“To _you_. Would I lie to _you_?”

She turned back to the Winchesters, “Just in case.”

The brothers chuckled, finally breaking the tension that had settled over them. The trickster shook his head, raising one hand and snapping his fingers, causing the boys to disappear.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” he said, pouting.

“No, but they don’t know that. Plus, it made them laugh,” she shrugged. “Do you mind snapping my car home? I wanna see if I can hitch a ride in the famous Impala.”

He chuckled, “Sure thing. You be careful with those boys. Who knows what they get up to when their alone. And now they know what you are.”

“I’ll be fine. I don’t think I piss them off enough for them to kill me.”


	4. Chapter 4

Huey Lewis and the News was playing when he woke up, the words ‘back in time’ catching his attention before he jolted up into a sitting position. Every morning for the past hundred or so mornings had started with Asia. Always Asia. Always _Heat of the Moment_. But not today. He glanced over to where Dean was normally sitting, tying up his boots only to find the bed next to his slept-in, but empty. He glanced over to the small bathroom, seeing Dean half step out with his toothbrush.

“Were you gonna sleep all day?” the older brother asked.

“No Asia,” Sam said, still in shock.

“Yeah, I know,” he muttered, not hearing his brother’s tone. “This station sucks.”

Trying to let his brain catch up to the event, Sam glanced over at the clock to where it said the date, “It’s Wednesday!”

“Yeah, which usually comes after Tuesday. Turn that thing off.”

“What, are you kidding? This isn’t the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard?” He moved to sit at the end of the bed, suddenly excited. Who cares what the trickster or his daughter (holy crap he had a _daughter?_) said? It was Wednesday! He was finally out!

“No.” Dean stared at his brother as the younger man pulled on a plaid button-up over his t-shirt. “Jeez. How many Tuesdays did you have?”

“Don’t know. I lost count. Hey, wait. What do you remember?”

“I remember you were pretty wacked out of it yesterday. Then I remember running into the trickster and his daughter.” He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening. “Fuck. The trickster has a daughter.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“A _hot_ daughter.”

Sam gave him a bitch face, his excitement tapering off. Now really wasn’t the time to be noticing those type of things. Especially when it was the daughter of a being who was entirely capable of kicking their asses. Dean seemed off in his own little world though, perhaps imagining things Sam really didn’t want to contemplate. He rolled his eyes, standing to gather his things until Dean decided to rejoin him.

They were interrupted by a light but sure knock on the door. Both men froze, glancing between each other and the door, thinking the same thing. The trickster’s daughter had said she’d meet them in the morning. Had she meant that?

Dean was the first to snap out of it, moving to the door and peering out the peek hole. Sam came up behind him, “Well?”

Dean shook his head, unlocking and opening the door. Standing outside, smiling brightly, was the trickster’s daughter. Her long black curls were tied up in a ponytail today, bouncing as she pushed her way into their room, gray eyes shining as she took in the crappy beds and sofa and the small kitchenette tucked away in the corner. Her red t-shirt with NCIS written across it, blue jeans, and sneakers were all completely normal. Nothing gave away what she really was.

“What are you doing here?” Dean asked irritably.

“I told you I’d be coming,” she said simply, plopping down on the couch. “My bag’s outside, by the way.”

“Really? Why don’t you join it?”

She raised an eyebrow, looking towards Sam, “He always this grumpy in the morning?”

“I’m not grumpy,” he snapped when Sam began laughing with the small woman. “I just don’t particularly like random women walking into my motel room.”

“I’m not random. I told you I was coming over yesterday. And you’re the one who opened the door.”

Sam sighed, seeing she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. Instead of arguing, he moved back to the bed and began packing his stuff again. Seeing his acceptance, the girl got up and sat down cross-legged on the unmade bed, helping him fold some shirts.

“What are you doing?” Dean snapped.

“Helping,” she placed the shirt onto the pile he was making. “Sooner you guys pack the sooner we leave.”

“We?” Sam asked, putting his bathroom things into a travel bag since she seemed to be handling his clothes.

“My dad kinda abandoned me. He’s a little butt hurt that I took your side over his. So I was hoping I could bum a ride off you guys.”

“No,” Dean shook his head. “No way. Not gonna happen.”

“Where are you going?” Sam ignored his brother. He had seen that she was more for helping them than the trickster. Or at least she was being nicer about it.

“New Orleans,” she answered, setting his shirts neatly into his bag. “I own a bar there called _The Devil’s Trap_.”

Sam chuckled, “Really?”

“Yep,” she grinned up at him. “I thought it was funny. I even painted a real devil’s trap on one of the walls. Once an actual demon walked in, saw it, and walked right back out again. It was kinda funny.”

Dean had wandered over, unwillingly interested in her story. He chuckled at the demon thing, “You ever get any hunters?”

She nodded, “Oh yeah. All the time. A hunter actually helped me get started. Ellen Harvelle. She was an old friend of my mom’s.” Her voice had drifted slightly, her eyes growing distant and sad at the mention of her mom.

“We know Ellen,” Dean said simply. “Didn’t think she’d be friendly with a bunch of tricksters.”

The woman frowned at the eldest Winchester, but didn’t comment.

Sam searched his brain for a change of subject, “I just realized, we don’t even know your name.”

She blinked up at him, “Oh. Sorry. Piper Rhodes.”

“Tricksters have last names?” Dean asked incredulously. Sam rolled his eyes, already seeing the obvious.

“No, but I did go to college. I own a bar. My dad had a job. For those things, we needed last names.”

“Why Rhodes?” Sam asked gently, not wanting to push too many buttons after the whole ‘mom’ thing.

Before she could answer, however, classic rock was suddenly playing from the black cell phone on the bedside table. Dean picked it up and frowned at the caller ID before answering.

“Yeah?” He gave Sam a look before walking out of the room.

“Clearly he doesn’t trust me. Not that I blame him.”

“Your dad being a trickster does make things a little…awkward for us,” Sam told her, zipping up his bag.

“I’m really not as bad as him. I take more after my mom,” she smiled sadly. “She was human, you know. A hunter actually. Until she met my dad, anyway.”

“That’s…kinda sweet actually.”

“Yeah,” her smile faded and she looked down at her hands folded in her lap. “Until others found out. They came after us. I was still really little, I don’t remember much. My mom and baby sister didn’t make it.”

His heart seized in pain. That story sounded an awful lot like his own family’s. Only with a sadder ending. He sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in comfort. It wasn’t something he should probably be doing, comforting a half-trickster, but he couldn’t help it. She just seemed so human right then, so vulnerable. She gave him a half-hearted smile, neither feeling the need to talk.

After a few minutes of sitting together, Sam looked at the door. His brother had been gone for a long while now.

“Go on,” Piper lightly shoved his shoulder.

He smiled, wondering why exactly he felt so close to her emotionally even though they had only just met. Mentally shaking away the thought, he got up and traced his brother’s steps, closing the door behind him as he walked out. The bag Piper claimed was outside was nowhere in sight. Neither was his brother. He trotted down the stairs to the Impala where Dean was leaning into the trunk.

“Dean,” Sam called, coming up behind him.

“Hey,” he straightened. “That was Ellen. Said she got a message to call me from the trickster. Apparently he wanted her to make sure we don’t end up yanking his daughter. She explained Piper’s history to me.”

“Yeah I got a bit of it myself from Piper.”

“Did she tell you her mom was a hunter?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Can you believe that?” Dean scoffed, turning to lean against the car. “A hunter and a trickster.”

“Yeah, I know. Guess you can’t choose who you love.”

Dean just scoffed again, “Anyway, Ellen threatened to castrate me if I don’t drive the girl home, so go get the monster so we can get this over with.”

Sam sighed, “Dean. Be nice.”

Dean raised his eyebrows, “I am nice.”

“I mean it. It’s not her fault her father’s a trickster.”

“Okay. Fine. Whatever.” He studied his younger brother carefully, “Dude, what is with you?”

“What?” he shifted under Dean’s scrutiny.

“Oh. Dude. Seriously?”

“What?”

“Look, I know it’s been a while, but she’s half-trickster, man.”

“What are you talking about, Dean?”

“If you’re that hard up, we can always stop by a strip club. New Orleans and all…”

“Dude,” Sam gave him another one of his bitch faces.

“Just saying.”

“Don’t.” He shook his head, walking away before his brother could really piss him off. Dean could just be so vulgar sometimes. It just wasn’t like that. Yeah, Piper was an attractive woman, he wouldn’t deny that. But unlike Dean, he didn’t feel the need to jump every attractive woman to cross his path. Especially one who was clearly just as emotionally damaged as he was, even if she seemed to be handling her problems better than him.

Piper was waiting outside the room, his and Dean’s bags stacked at her feet, “I got bored waiting inside.”

He chuckled, “Thanks. Maybe we should keep you.”

She laughed with him, picking up one of the bags to help him down the stairs. They walked side-by-side silently until they reached the Impala. Dean raised an eyebrow at Piper but took the bag with a gruff thanks.

“Yours is in the back seat,” he said, turning away with the clear intention of ignoring her.

“So I’m guessing I’m coming along then,” she grinned, climbing into the back seat.

“Nice, Dean. Nice.”

“I’m being nice,” he said back, slamming the trunk closed and walking around to the driver’s side. Sam sighed, getting into the passenger seat. Piper leaned forward, arms resting on the bench seat in front of her and her chin propped on her folded hands.

“Just for this,” she directed to Dean, “You’re gonna get free drinks, anytime you come to _The Devil’s Trap_.”

Dean snorted, “You’re just bribing me so I don’t kill your dad next time I see him.”

She scoffed, “Don’t need to. You can try to kill him all you want. Loki tends to be hard to kill.”

Dean had pulled out onto the road as the spoke. At the mention of Loki, he nearly veered off onto the sidewalk in shock.

“Loki?” Sam asked incredulously, “The Norse God?”

“That’s the one. Daddy dearest.”

He turned to look at her entirely serious face, “So have you…met any other, uh, Gods.”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “They don’t take well to Gods having kids with mortals. Who do you think killed my mom?”

Sam frowned, “Sorry.”

“You didn’t know.”

“Yeah…”

Silence filled the car as she leaned back, only breaking it when she yawned, “Long drives always make me tired. I’m gonna take a nap for a while. Turn on some music?”

Sam turned again to see her curling up on the back seat, her small frame easily fitting, with her head pillowed on her bag, “You want music playing?”

She hummed in answer, “My mom always like playing music around the house. When she died my dad continued playing her old records. Made it feel like she was there. Always helps me sleep.”

“What’d she listen to?” Dean asked, finally getting something he was interested in.

“Everything,” she yawned again, clearly half asleep. “She loved Aerosmith though.”

Dean grinned, “That I can do.” He slid a tape into the dash and _Jaded_ quickly filled the car. “Okay,” Dean said quietly, so as not to disturb the slumbering girl. “Maybe she’s not so bad.”


End file.
